DAS BRYZA MEETS WITH OSCE AMBASSADOR REEVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TBILISI 001998

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/28/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV GG
SUBJECT: DAS BRYZA MEETS WITH OSCE AMBASSADOR REEVE


Classified By: CDA Mark X. Perry, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: In a July 27 meeting with DAS Bryza, OSCE
Ambassador Roy Reeve said that the Georgians have rejected a
Spanish proposal to allow Reeve to continue on as "Acting"
Head of Mission until his successor is found. Reeve said his
last day as OSCE Ambassador to Georgia will be Tuesday, July

31. Reeve also told Bryza that the situation in South
Ossetia has been calm, though the atmosphere remains tense.
OSCE monitors have found new holes in the water pipeline that
supplies drinking water to Tskhinvali and the city was once
again without water. Reeve said he feared South Ossetian
defacto president Kokoiti would retaliate by cutting off
water to Georgian villages in the next few days unless water
to Tskhinvali was restored. (Note: an OSCE official told us
on July 31 that the Georgians had repaired the holes and
water was flowing to Tskhinvali. End Note.) The economic
rehabilitation projects are going well, though Reeve said one
of the challenges for OSCE will be to coordinate with the
unilateral projects Georgia is funding through Sanakoyev.
The next Joint Control Commission (JCC) meeting will be
August 9-10 in Tbilisi, and Reeve said the OSCE will try to
get the sides to agree on demilitarization steps within the
conflict zone. He said Georgia has been building
professional trenches with mortar platforms and JPKF patrols
have discovered anti-personnel mines around the Georgian
village of Avnevi. Reeve noted that the recent initiatives
by the Georgian government to determine autonomous status for
South Ossetia within a united Georgia were good, but they
needed to slow the process down and ensure they include
ethnic South Ossetians. End Summary.

Reeve leaving Mission on July 31
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2. (C) Reeve said the Georgian government rejected a last
minute push by the Spanish to extend Reeve's term as OSCE
Ambassador, informing a Spanish delegation on July 26 that
there was no flexibility in Georgia's position and Ambassador
Reeve would have to leave when his term ends on July 31.
Reeve said that President Saakashvili had already informed
OSCE Chairman-in-Office (CIO) Moratinos this prior to the
attempted Spanish intervention, but the Spanish delegation
apparently did not receive the message. Interviews for his
replacement will begin in early September, and Deputy HoM
Veselin Nikolaev will serve as Acting Head of Mission until
Reeve's successor arrives.

South Ossetia calm...but tense
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3. (C) The situation in South Ossetia has been calm over
the past two weeks, Reeve said, though the atmosphere remains
tense. Tskhinvali was once again without water on July 27,
due to newly punctured holes in the Georgian portion of the
water pipeline, and Reeve said he feared the defacto
authorities would cut off water to Georgian villages unless
water to Tskhinvali was restored within the next two days.
DAS Bryza asked what obstacles to solving the water problems.
Reeve said that the main questions concerned organizing and
managing the water system. Both sides have been "playing
games" with the water, the repairs were not well done and
there is no supervision of the pipeline. He characterized
the water issue as a public relations opportunity missed by
Sanakoyev, who could have repaired them well the first time
and claimed credit for keeping the water flowing. Reeve said
that there would be an August 2 Steering Committee meeting in
Tskhinvali to discuss both short and long-term solutions to

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the water issue.


4. (C) Reeve said the economic rehabilitation projects were
going well, with a lot of activity on the ground. Reeve said
that the problem was coordinating OSCE's projects with the
unilateral projects Georgia is funding through Sanakoyev.
Sanakoyev wants to build a hospital in Kurta, he said, but
OSCE is already renovating the Tskhinvali hospital, and the
region does not need two. Reeve estimated that the Georgians
have already given 7,000,000 Euros to Sanakoyev for projects
in the Georgian-controlled villages. Both the Georgians and
the Russians have given 50,000 Euros each to the OSCE
projects. Russians gave 3,000,000 Euros to the defacto
authorities last year in the run-up to South Ossetian
elections, but Reeve said the Russians were not happy with
the projects, and he believed they would be less inclined to
fund unilateral projects in the future. He added that the
new South Ossetian bypass road was impressive, five lanes
wide, capable of transporting heavy equipment through the
hilly terrain, and clearly Russian built.

JCC in Tbilisi August 9-10
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5. (C) Reeve said that the sides have agreed to a JCC

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meeting at OSCE's premises in Tbilisi August 9-10, and the
OSCE will try to get the sides to agree on demilitarization
steps and keeping the bypass roads free of blockades. The
last road blockade around Avnevi by the JPKF was "very tense"
according to Reeve, and could have easily escalated. The
Georgians have strengthened their position around Avenvi,
building professional trenches, with platforms for mortars,
and laying anti-personnel mines. Reeve said he thought
Avnevi would likely be the "flashpoint" for any future
confrontation between the South Ossetians and Georgians, as
it was in 2004, but noted that unlike 2004, any armed clash
would quickly spread to other areas within the zone of
conflict. Reeve said that an agreement on placement of
additional OSCE observers, which he hoped would come soon,
would double OSCE's capacity to monitor the conflict zone.
Reeve added that they will also bring OSCE one step closer to
a permanent monitoring post at Didi Gupta.


6. (C) DAS Bryza asked Reeve if it was time for
negotiations to move into the third phase of political
settlement. Reeve replied that it was, but the problem would
be the inclusivity of the process. He said that the
Georgians have to slow down. They have made the right moves
so far, but cannot resolve the issue in the next two months.
He said the Georgians have not done enough to engage the
ethnic South Ossetian communities, which will not be easy and
requires more time. He believed support for Sanakoyev is
limited primarily to the Georgian-controlled villages.
Because he is closely identified with the Georgian government
in Tbilisi, Reeve said, it is easy for Kokoiti to discredit
him.


7. (U) DAS Bryza cleared this cable.
PERRY